Integrated circuit systems are rapidly increasing in device count and operating speed. Each of these attributes tends to increase power requirements directly while both together cause power requirements to increase exponentially. Therefore, dealing with power requirements associated with integrated circuit systems is becoming a much more critical design arena than before. These power requirements and their corresponding temperature effects have led to the need for additional power management considerations and techniques.
One such management technique involves separating the integrated circuits that require full power all of the time to perform their intended tasks from those that may use reduced power to perform some of their intended tasks at least some of the time. Another power management technique further isolates blocks of circuits where the power may be fully removed during certain aspects of system operation. For example, these circuit blocks may have their operating power completely removed when they become operationally inactive for a period of time. Supplying and removing power, either partially or completely, from a block of circuitry may be controlled by a header or footer transistor.
The header transistor forms a controllable switch between a positive power supply and a circuit block. Similarly, the footer transistor forms a controllable switch between a negative power supply and the circuit block. Activation of the header or footer transistor allows a virtual supply to be connected to the circuit block. Often, both header and footer transistors are employed to provide both positive and negative virtual supplies concurrently when the block of circuitry is active.
Similarly, header and footer transistors are used to reduce current to blocks of circuitry during their inactive modes of operation. There is a potential advantage in changing the header or footer transistor body voltage to raise its threshold voltage and thereby reduce its leakage when in the inactive mode. Alternatively, lowering the threshold voltage during the active mode provides a reduced transistor voltage drop for the header or footer transistor. However, there is a capacitance associated with the body nodes of the header and footer transistors, which may be relatively large. This capacitance requires a dynamic switching power associated with switching a voltage on the body node that may provide too large a penalty to be used in some applications, especially if powering the circuitry on and off is required too frequently. Additionally, a forward body bias to lower threshold voltage in the active mode gives rise to forward biased diode current that is generally undesirable.
Accordingly, what is needed in the art is an improved way to provide switchable power to a circuit block that is required on a more frequent basis and that will provide biasing for a lower threshold voltage in the active mode.